“You would think that government jobs would be the ideal work environment ”

Comp & Benefits

Work/Life Balance

Senior Management

Culture & Values

Career Opportunities

Current Contractor - Anonymous Contractor

Current Contractor - Anonymous Contractor

I have been working at Government of Canada as a contractor

Pros

-great pay-sick pay and personal days (if you are actually fortunate enough to have a long enough contract there)

Cons

-mostly seasonal contracts (so not many permanent jobs)-seems like they give a lot of the better (or higher) jobs to minorities instead of judging everyone in a fair manner-don't get any or much benefits unless you are fortunate enough to get a longer contract (which they often try hard to avoid so that they do not have to give out those benefits)-once you do get in a more "stable" and higher position, they put so much stress on you with often unattainable production and precision quotas that you are not able to do the work as well as you should (a great number of people that work(ed) with me or are in other areas are on high blood pressure medication (even a co-worker that is still in her twenties)-they "walk people out" for not doing the work as well as they should even if they have been working there for most of their lives---they also don't give much consideration to seniority-they don't really care that they ask for ridiculous production numbers (if fact, I am sure they lose a lot of money and good customer service because they expect people to do a lot of work in a very small limit of time----there is no way that that you can keep up with their quotas without doing inaccurate work)-----------------if you keep up with your production quotas, you risk losing your job because you aren't able to meet your precision quotas or if you keep your precision quotas, you risk losing your job because you do not meet your production quotas (it really is no wonder that a lot of people quit or suffer from very high blood pressure (or worse illnesses)).

I have been working at Government of Canada full-time (more than 10 years)

Pros

Great benefits include a pension, sick and family related leave (with pay), flexible work hours, pay for all stat hoursThere is job security - to a certain degreeIt has zero tolerance for work-related harassment

Cons

The pay is lower than in the private sector.They are very bureaucratic - things take way longer to happen than they should. It can be difficult to advance up the ladder on a permanent level - this organization mainly hands out acting positions versus permanent appointments.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Learn to be more flexible - life doesn't always fit into a black and white picture. Learn to be more open to modern technologies.

The Government of Canada offered me a great quality of life with generous leave policies and overtime pay. The government also encourages internal movement and gives the ability to apply for other positions.

Cons

If you work for the Government of Canada abroad as a non-Canadian there are a few implications. Make sure to check on tax implications, because they can add up and in the United States you are not eligible for unemployment if they decide to lay you off. Another implication is that you can only move so far within the system, without citizenship.